This course will introduce you to the life and work of George Orwell. It will give you the chance to study and discuss his most important works set against the events that shaped his life – from the Indian Imperial Police in Burma to homelessness in London and Paris, inter-war depression and the Spanish Civil War.
Emphasis will be on the different political contexts and intellectual influences on his ideas, and you will have the chance to explore some of the rich biographical material produced on Orwell. In class discussions we will use short extracts from his works – Orwell was a great essayist – enabling you to be selective in drawing on his ideas for your written assignment.
A theme running through the course will be the relevance of Orwell’s ideas for understanding today’s world. We will consider some of the recent biographies of Orwell which have looked at the influence of working-class writers on his ideas as well as the neglected role Eileen O’Shaughnessy (Orwell’s wife) had on his writing and politics.
Finally, we will assess the contemporary relevance of his writing (notably Nineteen Eighty-Four) for understanding not only totalitarianism but current politics in the age of populism and post-truth.
This course is part of the Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) programme.